Happy New Year to all of our lovely readers. We hope you have a truly wonderful 2008.

As it's the New Year no doubt lots of people will have made New Years resolutions. I used to make them without fail every single year but by mid January I'd usually failed in most, if not all of them. I wonder how many of you have made resolutions this year, if you'll keep them and for how long. I find it fascinating.

There are the usual resolutions that so many people make, including...Lose weightGet fit, start an exercise regime, get healthyQuit a bad habit like smoking, or drinking to excess, biting your nails?Get ahead, change jobs, get a promotionGo on holidayMove houseSpend more time with loved onesLearn something new, do a course, get some trainingGet organizedSpend less money or get out of debt

I've heard so many resolutions from people over the years. Some weird and wonderful, some sad, like the friend who announced just after midnight that she'd be getting a divorce that year, at her instigation. I've also heard some totally awesome ones, inspiring and inspirational including raising money for charities, training for and running a marathon, taking a year out with the family to go traveling for a year, .

So if you're in the camp that makes resolutions, I hope you manage to stick to them and if you didn't but you still want to make changes in your life then perhaps try and change things gradually. Give yourself smaller goals that are more realistic to attain.

Don't be too hard on yourself - January is a hard time to start making major changes, especially if you live in the Northern Hemisphere when it's cold and we all need a bit of comfort.

Maybe it's best to try and make changes, incorporating the good and positive things as an ongoing process throughout the year, and not try to suddenly change everything immediately just because it is the start of a new year.

For me personally, I gave up making resolutions for a few years, but this year with a spinal injury I decided that I needed to make some changes in my life. I thought the New Year was as good a time as any to begin making these changes. I'm going to get my back better and then as soon as it is, work on my core strength so that it stays okay. I've heard pilates is good? This way hopefully avoiding surgery. I'm also going to lose weight, I call it 'the baby weight', which is ridiculous as my youngest will be four this year, however I didn't carry any excess weight until I had children so to me it's 'the baby weight'. Not fair to keep blaming them so time to do something about it and I'm sure it can all be incorporated into my lifestyle changes which are all going to help my back. I'm not going to be too hard on myself, things take time and if any changes are to be lifelong changes they will take time to implement and time to become a habit.

Happy New Near everybody. I wish you all an awesome 2008!

News:We'd like you all to help us welcome a few new members to our ever growing team. We are totally excited to have Petra of the fantastic FoodFreak join our Tiffin Tuesday series. Petra creates a few gorgeous looking bento boxes and lunch boxes, filled with health goodness.

Here's Petra:I used to work the IT business, but now I am a freelance writer,cookbook author and novelist, living in Hamburg, Germany.I am a foodie, as reflected in my blog Foodfreak, active in the slowfood movement, and I have a passion for Asian cuisines as well aslocal ingredients. Two years ago I started packing bento boxes for my husband to provide him with fresh, healthy and nutritious foods, and this has turned into a passion for bentos, too. I learned that bentos are widely unknown in Germany. When I find the time, I love to paint, take photographs or stroll across one of the various markets of my hometown

Another person who will be adding plenty of exciting healthy posts to our blog is VeggieGirl from the very interesting vegan blog VeggieGirl. She will be writing about a vegan lifestyle and giving all of us a few tips.

Here is VeggieGirl:

I am a nineteen-year-old, health-conscious vegan who has a passion for nutrition, cooking (especially baking!), food photography, animals, traveling, fitness, and writing (I'm a journalism major). On my blog, entitled VeggieGirl, I frequently post about my latest cooking & baking adventures, family get-togethers, and other topics.

Look forward to their posts coming soon.

Are you interested in contributing to The Daily Tiffin? Drop us an email: blogmeeta@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing your ideas.

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comments:

I am one of those who does not make NY resolutions but I make a list of "bad habits to be aware of".As a Pilates instructor,I cannot but urge you to take some classes.Tell the instructor about your injury and make sure he/she gives you modifications for certain series.Good luck!

I don't do resolutions. I do goals. Recently I stumbled upon a concept / plan called 101 things (in 1001 days). The idea is to set precise, measurable goals, instead of making rather vague resolutions, kind of a long-time to-do list. Works for me.

Change is always good and I have a few things I'd like to change/improve on. But i stopped making resolutions a long time ago. Change can happen at any time and we dont have to wait for New Year Resolutions to do them!

Helen, Love the list of bad habits to be aware of. Put a smile on my face! Thanks for the advice and good wishes.

Petra, The 101 things in 1001 days sounds like an interesting concept, I do much prefer measurable goals, must be something to do with my training background, that need to evaluate if something has worked or not.

Nupur, Nothing like that feeling of a fresh start. Almost like shaking the shackles off!

Dharm, Exactly, if anything I do think change is better or maybe easier to make when it's not New Year. ...and don't we all have a few things we'd like to change or improve on.